Curtain guide rail assembly

ABSTRACT

A DEVICE FOR THE INTRODUCTION AND EXTRACTION OF DISPLACEABLE CURTAIN CARRIER ELEMENTS INTO AND OUT OF GUIDE RAILS. OPENINGS ARE PROVIDED ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE GUIDE RAILS WITH YIELDABLE SECURED TRACK SECTIONS WHICH SERVE TO OPEN AND CLOSE SAID OPENINGS FOR THE PLACEMENT AND REMOVAL OF THE CARRIER ELEMENTS. A PORTABLE CURTAIN RAIL, ADAPTED TO CARRY A PLURALITY OF CARRIER ELEMENTS, MAY BE LOCKED ONTO AN OPENING SUCH THAT THE ELEMENTS MAY BE INSERTED BY MEANS OF AN INTERNAL CORE ELEMENT WITHIN THE RAIL.

United States Patent 1 1 3,587,131

[72] lnventor PeterGrat [56] ReferencesCited Leinielden, Germany UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 8051292 3,333,622 8/1967 Graber 160/345 [22] Flled-Mar.7, 1969 451 P61611166 111116231971 FOREIGN PATENTS 32 Priorityar.9,19 s 800,884 12 1950 Germany l6/95D 133] Germany 1,106,043 5 1961Germany l6/95D 31 P17 9 1,083,055 9 1967 0166113111616... l6/87.4

315,523 10/1951 Germany l6/95D Primary ExaminerDona1d A. GriffinAttorney-Arthur Schwartz [54] CURTAIN GUIDE RAIL ASSEMBLY 14 Claims 22Drawing Figs. ABSTRACT: A devlce for the mtroductlon and extraction ofdisplaceable curtain carrier elements into and out of guide [52] U.S. Cl16/95, rails. Openings are provided on the underside of the guide rails160/345 with yieldable secured track sections which serve to open and[51] Int. Cl E05d 13/02, close said openings for the placement andremoval of the car- A47h l5/O0 rier elements. A portable curtain rail,adapted to carry a plu- [50] Field of Search 16187.2, rality of carrierelements, may be locked onto an opening such 87.6, 94, 96, /346, 348;16/93, 95 (D); that the elements may be inserted by means of an internalcore 160/345 element within the rail.

PATENTEDJuN28|9n 3587.131

sum 1 0F 4 INVENTOR. PETER G RAF BY ARTHMR SCHWARTQ A-rromuey PATENTEHJUH28 IHYi SHEET 2 BF 4 Fig 13b PATENTED JUHZBIQYI 3,587; 131

sum u or 4 CURTAIN GUIDE RAIL ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONOrdinarily curtains or hangings are suspended on rollers or carrierelements provided with carrier eyes which can be shifted laterally inguide rails secured on the ceiling or wall of the room above windows anddoors. The introduction of the carrier elements into a guide rail, forexample into a currently usual slide track of a hollow rail formed afterthe style of an invetted U, is effected directly at the ends or, if therail is embedded in the body of a curtain bar or the ceiling plaster,through an opening provided at the end of the guide rail and accessiblefrom beneath in the rail itself or in the carrier bar, which opening issufiiciently large so that the body of the carrier element may beinserted on to the slide track. When all the sliders or rollers areinserted, the end of the rail or the opening must be blocked by means ofa special fastening in order to prevent the carrier elements fromsliding down and falling out.

The hanging up or replacement of a curtain or hanging is toilsome sinceall of the carrier elements, arranged over the whole width of thecurtain must be individually grasped and inserted into the guide rail.If only one carrier element is overlooked, the elements alreadyintroduced after this must be taken out of the opening again. Since inthe case of fixedly mounted curtain rods or guide strips a ladder isalways necessary for the fitting of the curtains with their carrierelements. Since it is also necessary to work with the arms raised, suchwork is not only time consuming, but also toilsome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the aim of the present invention, inorder to avoid this above-described complicated work, to provide on theguide rail a specially designed opening which does not lie at the end ofthe rail as hitherto, frequently in the corner of the room, but can beprovided at any desired selected point in the length of the rail,whereby the introduction of the carrier elements is simplified.Moreover, such an opening should render superfluous the hitherto usualspecial fastenings for preventing the carrier eyes and rollers fromfalling out, and furthermore any carrier elements overlooked ininsertion should be subsequently inserted into the guide rail withoutthe necessity of taking the previously inserted elements out.

The invention fulfills these requirements in that on the underside ofthe guide rail an introduction opening is provided at any desiredselected point having the extent of one or more carrier elements and iscovered off by yieldably retained track surface sections movablesubstantially perpendicularly of the plane of the opening which continuein the fixed track surfaces of the rail and find support on the latter.

For the insertion or removal of the carrier elements for the curtainsthe movable track surfaces of the opening section are moved out of theirrest position against a force, for example, a spring, which presses themback into their initial position again after termination of theinsertion operation. The one end of the movable track surfaces can beheld by a leaf spring which merges into the fixed approach tracksurface, the other end in the rest position rests either directly on thefixed departure track surface or on a slight depression at thecommencement.

Other embodiments are also conceivable in which the movable tracksurfaces are connected with an especially firm connection web to form aclosed profile which bears resiliently against the web of the railextending parallel thereto. Moreover, each individual track surface canbe held by means of a hinge on one of the fixed legs of the guide railand can be upwardly hingeable or equally can be suspended on the web bysprings and upwardly pushable. A special support member here againprovides support for the movable track rail parts in their restposition.

In the opening section the support members and also the legs and therail web can be made with the movable rail parts as an entire coherentpart which can be separated out of the guide rail. This provides thepossibility of inserting the new introduction device according to needinto existing guide rails.

Even guide rails, the legs or track rail parts of which are providedwith apertures into which continuingrail pieces, for example extensionsor curves, can be inserted, can be equipped with the new introductiondevice according to the invention. In the case of these rails theapertures in the legs or leg extensions serve to hold the support partsfor the separated track surfaces. Thus, in one example ofembodiments,the legs of the guide rails are provided throughout with lateral outwardbulges of slightly trapezoidal form. Retaining parts of the supportmember are introduced into these openings, which retaining parts retainthe horizontal support parts to be provided beneath the movable tracksurfaces, by means of connection parts which extend along the downwardlyleading leg parts.

Another example of embodiment relates to a guide rail in which the tracksurfaces for the sliders or rollers of the carrier elements are ofrelatively stout formation and provided over their entire length withcontinuous cavities. Apart from greater stability, these stout trackrails with the cavities have the purpose that mutually adjoining railpieces can be convenient ly fitted together by push-in connection.

So that the introduction device according to the invention for thecarrier elements may be provided in the case of rails having this typeof profile, the elasticity or flexibility of the movable track surfacesis used in a manner in which the rearward and of the movable tracksurfaces, prolonged with a shoulder, is introduced into the cavity ofthe fixed approach rail at the interruption point. The support part isalso insertable with its forward end into the cavity of the fixed trackrail which departs further forward, at the interruption section. Due tothe exploitation of the flexibility of the synthetic plastics materialof the movable track rail parts, the provision of a leaf spring or ahinge for the retention of the end of the movable sections becomessuperfluous.

In all the above described embodiments of devices for the insertion orextraction of the carrier elements at any desired opening along theextent of the guide rails, the handling of the carrier elements isfacilitated by the fact that this work does not have to be carried outas hitherto at the corners of the room, which mostly are difficult ofaccess, but can be carried out a point where a ladder can be set upconveniently.

In order to avoid the setting up of a ladder so that the introductionand extraction of the carrier elements can be carried out not directlyby hand but from the floor, a further feature of the invention providesthat these tasks can be carried out by means of an auxiliary rail whichhas the same profile as the guide rail. By means of an end pieceattachable to this auxiliary rail, the end of which piece terminates intongues, the carrier elements travel through the above-described openinginto or out of the continuing guide rail section. This end piece isattached approximately in a quarter circle to the portable auxiliaryrails which can be made vertical or with slight inclination in anydesired length, in which rails a flexible, displaceable guide bodyprovided with a handle holds the sliders or rollers of the carrierelements and permits them to be pushed into the guide rail.

If the entire curtain is then situated in the actual guide railallocated to it, and its outermost carrier element is anchored at theend of this rail by means of a fastening device, the auxiliary rail withthe end piece can be taken out of the opening again and used on anotherguide rail in the same manner. When the opening has closed, the curtainor hanging is distributed over the whole length of the guide rail. Thesliders or rollers run over the closed introduction opening withouthindrance.

The removal of a curtain takes place in a corresponding manner. Afterthe pushing of the curtain together with its carrier elements to theopening side of the introduction opening, it is brought to the openedintroduction opening out of the retaining device situated at the end ofits carrier bar, which device opens on lateral traction. By theinsertion of the end piece of the auxiliary rail the resilient slide ortrack rail sections rise there and clear the exit between the guide railand auxiliary rail to the carrier elements of the curtain. When theentire curtain has now dropped into this auxiliary guide, the latter istaken out of the opening again. The curtain can then be easily let outof the auxiliary rail.

An especially expedient receiving device for the removed curtain withits carrier elements consists in using, in place of the long auxiliaryrail, only its end piece. A flexible retaining wire of plastic syntheticmaterial or metal wire is introduced into the latter in the manner of acircular knitting needle, on which the carrier elements, which areformed according to its thickness, are arranged in a row. After thereception of all the sliders the two ends of the retaining wire can beconnected together. The entire curtain situated on this fitting can beput in this condition, together with the suspension elements, into awashing machine and hung up again immediately after cleanmg.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be explained in greaterdetail hereinafter by reference to some examples of embodiments thereofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGS. 1a and 1b represent a cross section and a longitudinal section, inapproximately actual size, through the opening part according to theinvention, to be fitted in a track rail, in the closed condition. Themovable parts are indicated by shadings.

FIGS. 20 and 2b show the opening in the open condition.

FIGS. 3a and 3b illustrate diagrammatically on a somewhat larger scale,a different embodiment of the opening part in which the track surfacesof the rail are pivoted out of the rest position into the working oropen position, in the region of the opening.

FIGS. 40 and 4b show diagrammatically a third embodiment of the openingpart in which the track surfaces are connected within the opening by atransverse piece in the raised and lowered positions.

FIGS. 5a and 5b show another embodiment in which the track surfaces ofthe opening part are raisable against a spring force.

FIG. 6 shows an opening piece which is downwardly hingeable.

FIG. 7 shows the profile of the U-rail with the lateral recesses of thelegs.

FIG. 8 shows the design and fitting of the support member in crosssection at any given point of the guide rail.

FIG. 9 shows a longitudinal section along the line III-III in FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 represents a guide rail with reinforced guide surfaces andcavities provided therein.

FIG. 11 shows the formation of the movable track surfaces and ofthesupport member in longitudinal section.

FIG. 12 is a partial view ofa connection point between the supportmember and the movable track rail.

FIGS. 13a and 13b represent an end piece, fitted on a freely movableauxiliary rail, for insertion into an opening such as shown in FIGS. 1to 12.

FIG. 14 shows the end piece connected with a retaining wire for sliders.

FIG. 15 shows diagrammatically the retaining wire with the slidersarranged in a row thereon in the closed condition, and FIG. 16 is a viewfrom beneath the clamping piece which fits on the underside of thecurtain bar, for holding fast the outermost carrier element ofa curtain.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in the drawings, theU-shaped guide rail in FIG. 1 has track surfaces 3 for the sliders orrollers on the lower end of the legs 2 issuing from the web 1. Opening 4is provided between these surfaces for the downwardly hanging eyes.

At any desired point of the guide rail the track surfaces 3 areseparated off over a short distance at the section 0-0 from the approachslide surface and the continuation slide surface and also from the legs3. There, on the underside of the rail, a flat support part 6 isprovided which supports the separated track rails in their rest positionand on raising of which an opening 8 is provided for the passage of thecarrier elements in the direction of the arrow. If the movable tracksurfaces 5 are raised in the direction of the arrow 7, these partsassume approximately the position according to FIG. 2. Sliders orrollers can be inserted through the produced gap with their carrier eyes(not represented here) onto the continuation fixed rails 9 or taken outof the guide rail in the opposite direction. The movable opening part 5can be supported by leaf springs 5' held on the fixed approach tracksurfaces 3. Thus after the cessation of the pressure exerted frombeneath against the opening flap 5, these leaf springs, with the tracksurfaces 5, resume their horizontal position and the opening is closed.Without the spring tension, the opening however would still close itselfdue to the force of gravity.

Another example of an embodiment for the opening device is representedin FIG. 3. There the track surfaces to be displaced are articulated inhinged fashion along their attachment edges to the legs 2. Due to thepressure of the carrier elements to be inserted from beneath, the twotrack surfaces 10 hinge against their corresponding legs 2 and remain inthe vertical position, as represented in FIG. 3b, until no more carrierparts are inserted, before they drop back into their initial positionagain. The lower parts 9 in FIG. 3b are the continuation track surfacesrepresented in FIGS. I and 2. The dropping back of the raised rail parts10 could also be supported by a suitable fitted spring.

A further possibility of opening for the track surfaces at the insertionopening for the track surfaces at the insertion opening is representedin the example according to FIG. 4. According to this, in the lower partof the U-shaped guide rail, there is a somewhat lower movable part 11which is pressed downwards in the rest position by springs 12 placedbetween the fixed rail 1 and the movable part 11. By striking upon themovable track surfaces from beneath, part 11 is pressed upwards againstthe force of the two springs 12. The sliders or rollers are theninserted upon the continuation track surfaces 9 visible in FIG. 4b andcan be displaced further into the curtain guide rail. After terminationof the insertion, the part 11 is pressed back into the normal positionshown in FIG. 4a under the pressure of the springs 12.

A similar solution is represented in FIG. 5, where the movable tracksurfaces 16 are not connected to one another but can be individuallypressed upwards against the force of a springs 15. The retention of thedisplaceable track rail pieces in the rest position is accomplished byextension pieces. Such pieces are indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2 as tongues13 on the movable track rail 5 which fit into the recesses 14 on thefixed track surface 9 and the support member 6. In FIGS. 3 to 5, thesupport member 6 must be provided on the opening in a dimensioncorresponding to the movable parts.

According to the further example of embodiment in FIG. 6, the completepiece 17 of the guide rail can be either withdrawable from the guiderail or tiltable downwards. It may be returned into its initial positionby means of a spring (not shown).

In the above examples, the device for the introduction and withdrawal ofthe curtain carrier elements is shown for rails with simple U-shapedprofiles. However, this device can also be used without substantialmodifications for guide rails with legs or slideways provided withapertures. For example, curved rail parts can be attached securelywithout interruptions to the main rail.

FIG. 7 shows the cross section through a plastic rail 45 in which thelegs 46 have slight trapezoidal outward bulged portions 47. The parts 48and 49 on both sides of the rail are of plastic-sheathed and preferablywood-reinforced rail parts. The outward bulges 47 receive the retainingpieces 50 of the support member, as may be seen from FIG. 8. These parts50 are provided with slots 51 so that by compression they can be takenout of the dovetail-shaped apertures 47. The parts 52 of these holdingpieces 50 carry carrier pieces 53 to be provided on the underside of theinterrupted rail section, on which pieces the movable track surfaces 55rest. As may be seen from FlGS. 8 and 9, at the point of interruption ofthe normal carrier surfaces of the guide rail the movable track surfacepiece 55 is movable about its pivot point, so that is assumes theposition shown in dot-and-dash lines, whereby the introduction of thecarrier elements 50 through the produced opening 56 is renderedpossible. The track surface pieces 55 are held at their rear end 54 bymeans of a leaf spring (not shown).

The cross section of the U-rail 30 according to FIG. 10 shows the tracksurfaces 31 attached to the lower leg ends. Each surface 31 contains acavity 32 extending through the whole rail length. This cavity providesthat adjoining rail parts, even those of arcuate course, can beconveniently attached. The movable track surface is also inserted intothis cavity with an extension piece 40a shouldered on its rear end 40,which piece is thus embedded between the upper part 38 and the lowerpart 33 of the fixed approach track rail (see FIG. 11). The elasticflexible material of the movable track surfaces 35 yields to a pressureacting against its lower part, moves upwards and constitutes anintroduction opening for the carrier elements, assuming the position 35indicated in dot-and-dash lines.

The support part 36 is connected with the rear end 40 of the tracksurface 35 by a locking device 41 by means of a dovetailshaped formationof the insertion protuberance. The slot 42 in this locking part rendersit possible to separate the track surface from the support element 36 bycompression of the two halves. The support element 36 engages with itsforward part 37 in the cavity of the continuation fixed guide rail part39 or 33. The lower rear protuberances 43 of the support part placethemselves beneath the lower surfaces 33 of the leg ends of the guiderail 30. The support part and the introduction device, as illustratedbetween the dot-and-dash lines running through 0 and 0, can thus beinserted as a complete component at any desired point in existing rails,if the corresponding piece is cut out of the existing rail.

In order still further to facilitate the insertion and withdrawal of thecarrier elements for the curtains or hangings, especially to save theuse and climbing of a ladder, according to a further feature of theinvention an auxiliary rail according to FIG. 13, adapted to the novelintroduction opening is provided. This has the form of a portablecurtain rail 18 to which a special insert end piece 19 is attachable atan angle. This end piece is inserted in the longitudinal direction ofthe fixed curtain rail on the one opening edge 24 of the slidingsurfaces and rests with its track surface ends in the recess 14 beforethe continuation rail 9. The separated track rails 5 are lifted by theattachment 20 on the web end of the end piece 19, whereby a way isprepared for the sliders 21 of the carrier eyes on to the guide rail 9or from this rail into the auxiliary rail 19. A special guide plate 22is secured on the Web of the curved end of the auxiliary rail, thethickness of which plate corresponds approximately to the gap 4 betweenthe track surfaces. This plate maintains the correct direction of theauxiliary rail. By means of a special catch (not shown) and a stop 23 onits rear edge this guide plate 22 is made fast during its utilization.

A solid filler piece 25 consisting of flexible material is displaceablysituated in the interior of the U-shaped auxiliary rail and with ahandle 26 guided between the track surfaces of the rail and secured onits lower part holds up the sliders 21 with the curtain and permits thepushing of them upwardly, such that the curtain passes completelythrough the introduction opening into the actual curtain rail. Theinsertion of a curtain already provided with its carrier eyes andsliders 21 into the auxiliary rail 18 can be effected quickly if therail is made upwardly hingeable over a certain part in its longitudinaldirection by means of a hinge strap fitted for example on the web (notillustrated). The entire row of sliders arranged side by side isinserted into the open rail and on hinging together of the two halves isimmediately ready for further conveying by means of the displaceablepiece 25 through the opening into the desired curtain rail 9.

So that the end of the curtain is held fast on the curtain rail, beforethe auxiliary rail is removed, the introduction opening is closed andthe other sliders of the curtain are distributed over the whole width ofthe guide rail by pulling. The first slider is moved by a light pull inthe direction towards the selfclosing gripper piece 28, according toFIG. 16 provided on the end of the curtain rail. The slider is then heldfast by the gripper piece. This piece is relatively flat and grasps thelegs of a slider by means of a slightly rounded clip. The resilientgripper piece 28 is so dimensioned that it may release the slider againon a somewhat more vigorous lateral pull. This occurs when the curtainis to be removed from the guide rail again by means of the auxiliaryrail '19.

An especially expedient form of embodiment of this removing and holdingdevice is represented in FIGS. 14 and 15. Into the end piece 19 the endof a retaining wire 29, consisting of plastic material, is introducedand closed in circular form after the style of a circular knittingneedle. This end is made fast by a suitable device 30 at the entry ofthe end piece 19. If the heads of the sliders are provided with a bore27 which corresponds to the thickness of this retaining wire 29, thenthe whole number of sliders of a curtain or hanging can be placed in arow so that the entire curtain hangs on this retaining wire which isclosable into a ring. The curtain or hanging can then be cleaned withthe sliders and the retaining wire attached.

I claim:

1. A device for the introduction and extraction of displaceable curtaincarrier elements into and out of guide rails, comprising an openinghaving the dimensions of the carrier elements, said opening beingprovided at any desired selected position on the underside of the guiderail, yieldably held track surface sections movable substantially in adirection perpendicular to the plane of and adapted to cover theopening, said track sections forming a part of the fixed track surfacesof the rail and, support means on the rail, said support means beingadapted to support said track sections.

2. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the tracksurface sections covering the opening are held in their closed positionby spring means.

3. A device according to claim 1 characterized in that the movable tracksurfaces of the opening are maintained in position by leaf springs whichmerge into and are secured to the fixed track surfaces.

4. A device according to claim 1 characterized in that the tracksurfaces of the opening are connected by a web to form a profile whichbears upon the fixed web of the guide rail profile through spring means.

5. A device according to claim 1 characterized in that the tracksurfaces of the opening are resiliently displaceable along the sidewallsof the guide rail.

6. A device according to claim 1 characterized in that the tracksurfaces of the opening are hinged by means of hinges with theirattachment edges on the legs of the rail profile.

7. A device according to claim 1 characterized in that the extensions ofthe guide rails comprise apertures running through the entire length ofsaid rails for the attachment of support members for the movable tracksurfaces.

8. A device according to claim 7, characterized in that the lateral legsof the guide rails possess dovetail-shaped outward bulges into whichretaining pieces of the support member are adapted to fit therein, whichpieces hold the carrier pieces arranged beneath the movable track railparts by means of connection pieces extending along the lower leg parts.

9. A device according to claim 7, characterized in that the guide railis provided with reinforced track surface parts and cavities extendingtherethrough, the forward end of the support member being introducibleinto the cavity of the continuation rail, while its rear end isconnected with the movable track rail, the extension of which isintroduced into the cavity of the approach rail and held fast therein.

10. A device according to claim 1 characterized in that the completetrack section of the guide rail may be displaced.

11. A device according to claim 1 further comprising an auxiliary railmeans adapted to carry a plurality of carrier elements, said rail meansbeing further adapted to be secured to said opening such that thecarrier elements may be passed into said opening and onto the guiderails by means of a core member means located internally of saidauxiliary rail means, said core member means being adapted to urge saidcarrier elements onto said rails.

12. A device according to claim 11, characterized in that the websurface end of the end piece of the auxiliary rail is bent upwards so asto form a protuberance adapted to lift the track surfaces of the openingupon insertion into the opening of said rail.

13. A device according to claim 1 characterized in that the carrierelements are held by a retaining wire which can be brought together toapproximately assume a circular form.

14. A device for holding fast at any desired point, preferably at theend of the guide rail, the carrier elements inserted into a guide railby means of the device according to claim 1 further comprising anelastic clip secured over the guide groove, said clip comprising gripperjaws, receives and maintains the sliders of the carrier elementsintroduced by means of said jaWS.

